Marketing is an important part of any business, but unless you are part of a huge corporation, you will be limited in certain ways by your budget. With many businesses finding themselves struggling at the moment, it’s often not feasible to put more money into marketing, yet this is how you find new markets and expand. Here’s how you can make the most of your marketing budget and get better returns.

1. Set clear goals and measure effectiveness

Before you begin a campaign, it’s important to think about your goal. Do you want more sales, for an increase in the cost per basket, or are you generally raising brand awareness? Setting goals helps you clarify what you want to achieve, and you can then measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaign against your metrics. Luckily, when it comes to digital marketing, it’s easier than ever to get statistics on your campaigns and see what works, putting the data into easy to read graphs.

2. Focus on your demographic

A lot of your budget can be wasted if you focus on the wrong demographic or use advertising mediums that don’t appeal to them. For example, you may mostly spend your money on digital marketing and social media nowadays, but if you are trying to appeal to older groups, then you may get a better ROI from more traditional marketing. If your product or service is suitable for different ages, then tailor your adverts to different groups. Just small changes can bring in more clicks.

3. Look at new marketing methods

If you’ve done the same sorts of marketing for many years, then it may be time to switch things up and potentially find new markets. There are so many types of marketing out there, you don’t need to do the same thing twice, and you can even use the same ideas in different ways. This is particularly important when you are marketing to the younger generation, who often view traditional campaigns with suspicion.

4. Work closely with other departments

Your marketing department shouldn’t exist in a vacuum, it’s important that you are in touch with other departments, from sales to production, to ensure you are all working towards the same goal. Regular meetings are important to discuss marketing strategy and get others on board. Some marketing departments find it useful to have software that lets them work closely with other departments when big campaigns are coming up. The Digital Project Manager has reviewed different types of task management software, which can be an excellent way to assign various aspects of a project and ensure deadlines are being met.

There are many ways you can make your marketing more effective without spending more. From reviewing your current strategy to see what’s effective, to trying some different types of campaigns that you perhaps hadn’t considered before. By thinking outside the box, even with a small budget, you can reach more people and reach your targets.